updated 05:49 am EDT, Thu May 15, 2014

Operator of Currys PC World joins up with Carphone Warehouse

Two high street store chains in the United Kingdom are merging, it has been revealed. Dixons Retail, operator of over 500 Currys PC World electronics stores in the country, will join up with Carphone Warehouse, a store chain specializing in mobile phones with more than 2,000 stores across Europe, with the deal said to be worth £3.8 billion ($6.3 billion).

Discussions started in February, reports the BBC, with the deal set to save approximately £80 million ($13.4 million) per year from 2017 onwards. The join-up will also see "significant job creation," with a four-percent increase in jobs expected once it completes, though there will be a 2-percent cut "as a result of the rationalization of certain operational and support functions."

Dixons CEO Sebastian James said "We are setting out on a new journey with Carphone Warehouse and it is good to be in such a strong position as we embark on this adventure. The ability to take what we have built in electrical retailing and add the profound expertise of Carphone Warehouse in connectivity would make us a leading force in retailing for a connected world." James later advised in a radio interview the aim was to exploit the "number of devices connected to the Internet," and that the merger should not cause any branch closures.

This is not the first time Carphone Warehouse has attempted to move into general electrical retail. In 2008, the company and Best Buy partnered to create Best Buy Europe, an ill-fated expansion into the continent by the US retailer. In April last year, following an investment of $2.15 billion towards the venture, Best Buy sold its stake back to Carphone Warehouse for $774 million to "simplify" its business.